Anti-rattler for thill-couplings



(No Model.)

Patented 0012.4,1881.

Inventor,

.Hbrace flcuwl UNITED STATES- PATENT 7 OFFICE.

HORACE BEARD, OF WILTON, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

ANTl-RATTLER FOR THILL-COUPLINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 247,739, dated October 4, 1881.

' Application filed July 28, 1881. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

A Be it known that I, HoEAoE BEARD, of Wilton, of the county of Hillsborough and State of New Hampshire,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Anti-Battling Devices for Thin-Couplings; and I do hereby declare the same to be described in the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure 1 denotes an edge view, Fig. 2, a rear elevation, and Fig. 3 a vertical section, of a spring and its supporter constructed and combined in accordance with my invention. Fig. 4 is a side view of a thill-coupling with one of my improved springs and supporters applied thereto.

The invention has reference to that for which Letters Patent No. 196,554, dated October 30,

1877, were granted to me. The patented article while in use is liable to become broken when the thill is turned backward foicibly against it, so as to crowd and compress it against the clip.

The object of my improvement is to prevent such an accident. This is accomplished by employing with the spring a supporter to be fixed to and project upward within it, and, with the spring, to be formed substantially as represented in the accompanying drawings, in which A denotes a thill, and B the clip, with which it is coupled in the usual manner.

The anti-rattling spring is shown at G as formed of a strip or piece of plate metal of proper width, bent in manner as represented. Near its front end it is fastened by rivets a or other suitable means, to a support-piece or supporter D, shaped essentially and extended upward within the spring in the mannershown, the supporter being provided with a curved areal recess, 1), to fit to and receive the cylindrical part 10 of the thill-ooupling. The supporter at its upper partis provided with an eye, 6, entirely or partially through it, the said eye being to enable a person, by means of a hook or other suitable appliance inserted into it, to withdraw the spring and supporter from the thill-coupling. The free part of the spring is shown in Fig. 2 as tapering orreduced in width. This renders it more flexible, and enables one to insert it more easily into the tliill-coupling.

From the above it will be seen that, with the supporter made, arranged, and combined with the spring in the manner substantially as represented, the spring cannot easily become broken in its upper part, or bend, or at any other point when compressed between the clip and the thill, on the latter being forcibly turned upward and backward against the spring.

I do not herein claim a spring formed in one. piece of metal and recessed in .the manner described and represented in the Patent No. 196,554,]1ereinbeforc referred to. Nor do I claim a lhill-coupling anti-rattling device composed of a spring and a block of india-rubber, shaped and arranged as represented in the United States Patent No. 196,377, for in my device the spring-supporteris of metal and inelastic, and besides is recessed to bear directly against the cylindrical part 19 of the coupling, and extends above the joint of the coupling and into the part of the spring, which is above such joint, and thereby operates to prevent such part from becoming crushed when the thill is turned up. Furthermore, my device has no shoulder to prevent it from being withdrawn upward from the coupling.

WVhat I claim as my present invention is as follows:

l. The combination of the bent spring 0, with its inelastic supporter D, recessed in its front and fastened to and extended upward 

